On my way back from Laponia to Stockholm I spend one day hiking along the High Coast (Höga Kusten). It wasn't easy to get to. It was a 6h ride from Lulea and another 6h ride to Uppsala in the evening. But this is the plight of the world heritage traveler. Or any traveler trying to visit Northern Sweden as distances are great and connections infrequent.

Similar to Clyde I visited Skuleskogen National Park and hiked up Slattdalsskrevan. My views were more limited than Clyde's thanks to the whole area still covered in magical morning mist. After lunch, the sky eventually cleared and I could see the outer islands.

If you are not a geologist, the High Coast looks and feels pretty much like many coastal areas in Sweden. Forests, rocks and islands are there in abundance. But it's a fine example of a Swedish coast and a very pleasant visit.

Getting There

I arrived in Docksta around 22:00h by bus. I came from Lulea via Umea. During summer, it’s still bright this late at night. My hotel was within 200 meters of the bus stop and they provided me with an entry code, so the late check-in was no problem.

The next day, I hiked to Bjästa from where you can catch buses to Örnsköldsvik and Umea (north) or Sundsvalls (south). Örnsköldsvik has a train station and an airport. Trains run north to Umea and south to Sundsvall. The airport connects you to Stockholm. Be aware, though, that the airport is outside of town and no public transport option exists.

If you want to see one of the islands, one option would be to take the ferry to Ulvohamn and explore the island, possibly with a canoe.

The High Coast Trail

The High Coast Trail runs from Hornöberget to Örnsköldsvik. However, the inscribed area is far more limited. Unfortunately, the map on the Unesco site is missing a page, so it’s hard to tell where the precise borders in the Docksta area are. In any case, Skuleskogen National Park is in bounds.

I left my hotel around 7:15h to hike from Docksta to Bjästa via Skuleskogen. In total, I hiked 30 kilometers in eight hours.

Initially, I joined the High Coast trail along the highway, but I lost the trail outside of town. So instead of hiking on the trail to the entry, I followed the road to Käxed and then made my way to the entry. Looking back, I would recommend the same to you, as the road to Käxed is nice with little traffic. It also allowed me to make some easy distance before the challenging part of the trail started.

In the national park, I hit the strenuous bit when I made my way up to Slåttdalskrevan. The trail becomes a mix of roots and rocks. But the views you get for that are nice. Alternatively, you can follow the coastline. Towards the north exit, both paths join. From thereon I followed the road to Bjästa. Bjästa was larger than expected with a shop and restaurants.

Trivia

The at least in Germany fairly popular brand Fjällraven is based in Örnsköldsvik (or Övik how the Swedes abbreviate it as even they can’t pronounce it). Their signature bag is called Kvarken like the site.